IMDb > The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 2)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) -- A married woman and a drifter fall in love, then plot to murder her husband... but even once the deed is done, they must live with the consequences of their actions.
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   5,508 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Tay Garnett
Writers:
Harry Ruskin (screenplay) and
Niven Busch (screenplay) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Postman Always Rings Twice on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2 May 1946 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Film-Noir | Crime | Thriller more
Tagline:
Their Love was a Flame that Destroyed! more
Plot:
A married woman and a drifter fall in love, then plot to murder her husband... but even once the deed is done, they must live with the consequences of their actions. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
10 Sexiest Non-Sex Scenes
 (From Spout. 19 February 2009, 2:00 PM, PST)
Stone Hits Out at Zeta-Jones Casting
 (From WENN. 31 August 2005)
User Comments:
Slightly Softened from Cain's 1930's Novel but Still Holds Its Own as a Noir Classic more (86 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Lana Turner ... Cora Smith
John Garfield ... Frank Chambers
Cecil Kellaway ... Nick Smith

Hume Cronyn ... Arthur Keats
Leon Ames ... Kyle Sackett
Audrey Totter ... Madge Gorland
Alan Reed ... Ezra Liam Kennedy
Jeff York ... Blair
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Philip Ahlm ... Photographer (uncredited)
John Alban ... Photographer (uncredited)
Morris Ankrum ... Judge (uncredited)
King Baggot ... Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Betty Blythe ... Customer (uncredited)
Paul Bradley ... Man (uncredited)
Wally Cassell ... Ben (uncredited)
Jack Chefe ... Headwaiter (uncredited)
Dick Crockett ... Reporter (uncredited)
Oliver Cross ... Man (uncredited)
James Darrell ... Reporter (uncredited)
Tom Dillon ... Father McConnell (uncredited)
Edward Earle ... Doctor (uncredited)
Jim Farley ... Warden (uncredited)
Byron Foulger ... Picnic Manager (uncredited)
Joel Friedkin ... John X. McHugh (uncredited)
A. Cameron Grant ... Willie (uncredited)
William Halligan ... Judge (uncredited)
Bud Harrison ... Bailiff (uncredited)
Paul Kruger ... Officer (uncredited)
Frank Mayo ... Bailiff (uncredited)
Helen McLeod ... Customer (uncredited)
Harold Miller ... Photographer (uncredited)
Howard M. Mitchell ... Doctor (uncredited)
Sandra Morgan ... Matron (uncredited)
George Noisom ... Telegraph messenger (uncredited)
Garry Owen ... Truck Driver (uncredited)
Dorothy Phillips ... Nurse (uncredited)
Dan Quigg ... Man (uncredited)
Virginia L. Randolph ... Snooty Woman (uncredited)
Paula Ray ... Woman (uncredited)
Hilda Rhodes ... Customer (uncredited)
Walter Ridge ... Reporter (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre ... Reporter (uncredited)
Edward Sherrod ... Man (uncredited)
Reginald Simpson ... Photographer (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan ... Officer (uncredited)
John M. Sullivan ... Doctor (uncredited)
Charles Williams ... Doctor (uncredited)
Create a character page for: ?

Directed by
Tay Garnett 
 
Writing credits
Harry Ruskin (screenplay) and
Niven Busch (screenplay)

James M. Cain (novel)

Produced by
Carey Wilson .... producer
 
Original Music by
George Bassman 
Eric Zeisl (uncredited)
 
Cinematography by
Sidney Wagner (director of photography)
 
Film Editing by
George White 
 
Art Direction by
Randall Duell 
Cedric Gibbons 
 
Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis 
 
Makeup Department
Jack Dawn .... makeup designer
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bill Lewis .... assistant director (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Douglas Shearer .... recording director
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Irene .... costume supervisor
Marion Herwood Keyes .... associate costume supervisor
Helen Scovil Roup .... wardrobe (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Ted Duncan .... orchestrator
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributors
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
113 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Australia:PG | Canada:18A (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | USA:Approved (PCA #11240) | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1996)
Filming Locations:
Norwalk Train Station, Norwalk, California, USA more
Company:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Joel McCrea turned down the role of Frank Chambers. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The way Cora hugs Frank changes after the cop and DA look at the dead cat. more
Quotes:
Frank Chambers: I can sell anything to anybody.
Cora Smith: That's what you think.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Foyle's War: The Funk Hole (#2.4)" (2003) more
Soundtrack:
She's Funny That Way more

FAQ

What does the title mean?
How was James M. Cain's book received?
What did Fred Allen write after he received a copy of the book?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful.
Slightly Softened from Cain's 1930's Novel but Still Holds Its Own as a Noir Classic, 27 April 2008
8/10
Author: classicalsteve from Oakland, CA

The original book published in 1934 by James M. Cain (author of "Double Indemnity") was a gritty unsentimental story of a low-class drifter and bum, Frank, who is taken in by a German immigrant, Nick, who owns a roadside café and his beautiful wife, Cora, who turns out to be much darker on the inside than the facade of her pure white skin. Cora, we learn, is dissatisfied with her life married to this older immigrant and the drifter becomes her catalyst to change her situation. The movie adaption of twelve years later is a slightly sentimentalized version of Cain's noir classic. That said, the movie still holds its own as a noir tale of betrayal and murder, but doesn't quite have the edge of Billy Wilder's adaption of "Double Indemnity".

Still, the movie works very well under its own terms, particularly because of the outstanding chemistry between the leads John Garfield and Lana Turner. In fact, the star of the show is really Turner who turns in a tour-de-force performance. Turner continually shows us the many faces of her character Cora Smith who is sometimes weak and vulnerable and other times resolute and stubborn, even unsympathetic, and yet oozing with unrealized sexuality. We gather that Cora is no ordinary woman, or at least not the soft sentimental Doris Day type. More like a cross between Eva Peron and Madonna. Sometimes hard and mean and other times sweet and feminine, she is the complex epitome of the Cain femme fatale of this era. She remains enigmatic from beginning to end which is I think what Cain would have wanted. Garfield, in probably the role of his career, is equally superb, at first rejecting the murder scheme and then later embracing it. Although lacking the enigmatic complexity of Cora, Frank is equally ambiguous and ambivalent to his life choices, and Garfield well conveys the multi-sidedness of Frank.

The story concerns a young man looking for work, finds a roadside café up a few hours north of Los Angeles, probably up the 101 freeway, and becomes the hired help. He is employed by Nick, a simple German-stock older-than-middle-age man, who simply wants to make enough money to be comfortable and occasionally play his little guitar. His wife, Cora, is about 40 years younger and wants to make something of their café instead of just eking out a meager living. But fleeing with Nick and beginning from ground zero is not what she wants. She would like to have the café and make something of it. And when the hired help Frank falls for her, she realizes he is the perfect means to get both of them out of their hellish existence.

A fine example of 1940's film noir with many of the stylistic considerations, such as the camera panning from feet-to-face when we first meet the woman Cora, the many unexpected twists and turns, and of course the dark desires of the leads. Every series of scenes leaves you guessing as to what will happen next. A couple of scenes were contrived that were superfluous to the book. Unfortunately, the film suffers slightly because of the stringent ethics codes that started to be imposed on films of that time. Probably film noir offerings suffered more than most because of their probing the darker sides of human nature. However, Postman still ranks as classic film noir.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (86 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Representation of women natalka-groves
cat scene rakkjen
the postman always rings twice crathie29
Postman may have rung 3X efffee
Ripoff? mcphil2
Film noir recommendations LDRose
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
The Postman Always Rings Twice Ossessione Double Indemnity Strangers on a Train The Letter
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Drama section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.